The most notable restaurant of the week was once again ai Pazzi by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani.
This time we enjoyed the table-side caprese salad, ossobucco, halibut, and flourless chocolate cake.
The other notable restaurant was Holsteins. They made us delicious, perfectly prepared burgers that were the juiciest ever.
The FORKING WORST of the week came from The Volcano Grill.
Old dried out carrots on the salad, Old dried out stringy chicken, Old tasting shrimp, slightly over cooked salmon. and sauces that didn’t taste like their namesakes. To sum things up it was like eating from a budget buffet.
Las Vegas News – The closures of two celebrity chef restaurants were announced. Chef Michael Symon;s – Mabel’s Bar & Q (Mabel’s BBQ) and Chef Marc Vetri’s – Vetri Cucina will soon be closing. The other Big Las Vegas Food News is that Jose Andres Bazaar Meat is expected to open next week (September 4th 2025) in the Venetian.
Silly or cute food news – My dogs enjoying a Cheeseburger.
There is always something New, Weird, Different, Limited, and Special Edition in the wonderful world of food. We just never know WTFork we will come across when we shop for food.
Up above is –
WEIRD – Feel Good Pancake Balls – How they stack up I don’t know
WEIRD – Eggo Brunch in a Jar Waffles & Syrup Cream Liquor – Sipping Cream that might be Flipping Awesome?
DIFFERENT & WIRD – Keurig – Dunkin’ artificial flavored S’mores coffee……..
DIFFERENT – Margaritaville frozen Shrimp in Hot Honey, Calypso Coconut, and Sunset Shrimp Scampi
LIMITED EDITION – UTZ Lemonade flavored Potato Chips – Your new main squeeze?
DIFFERENT – Classic Cheeseburger artificially and naturally flavored potato chips
REALLY DIFFERENT – Confusion – Black Truffle Masala Popcorn
More REALLY DIFFERENT – Corks Lemon Poundcake Popcorn
DIFFERENT – Emeril’s Pasta (Who Knew?)
DIFFERENT – Otoki – Cheesy Cheddar Ramen Noodle Soup?????
Dogs dining on mostly cheese burgers is just a “FLUFF” story. Usually I write about Dining Out With Dogs but in August in Las Vegas it is too hot to dine out with dogs so they get car rides for cheese burgers. Dining out with dogs all sort of started with my late dog Louie. When he got elderly he came down with aggressive cancer. We were told he probably only had three months or possibly up to six months to live. Since Louie always enjoyed going out to eat I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 months Good Old Louie made it another 17 months. I take my current dogs out to eat when I can and when the weather is right.
It’s hot here in Las Vegas so the dogs today are getting a car ride to out local In-N-Out Burger. It’s so hot today that the Giant Aussie didn’t knock the Beagle Mix out of his seat. She today prefers to sit in front of the air conditioner vent. The Beagle Mix looks happy.
Today he gets to watch the burger action inside.
Then he looks happy as we drive off with their cheese burgers.
Now we are home and they get to eat their cheese burger (minus bun because bread isn’t so great for dogs)
The dogs always enjoy car rides and never refuse a cheese burger.
www.In-N-Out.com
Hot again so the dogs got another car ride to In-N-Out for another Cheese Burger.
www.In-N-Out.com
This time they got a car ride to Wendy’s.
www.Wendys.com
I brought home some California Fish Grill Fish for the Dogs.
Don’t worry they also got a cheese burger from Carl’s Jr.
The dogs always enjoy a cheeseburger.
August 2025
The weather should cool down in the near future and we will be dining out again. We hope you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Mabel’s BBQ also renamed as Mabel’s B & Q (but sign was never changed) is located in the Palms Hotel/Casino located not too far from the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. This full service restaurant and bar is by Multi Award Wining, James Beard Wining and Celebrity Chef Michael Simon.
Inside it’s casual with traditional tables, half booths, and bar seating.
The menu changes from time to time and is quite a bit different than from my last visit.
We try the Brisket with Pastrami Spice, Turkey Pastrami, Shells & Cheese, and Smoked Watermelon Salad (feta, lime, mint, almonds)
The Winners or Hits here (today anyway) are –
Turkey Pastrami – Moist- Delicious – only mildly tasting like pastrami but that’s fine.
Pickles – Delicious and full of interesting good flavors
Whipped Brown Sugar Butter – Delicious – It might even make an old sneaker edible
The not so good today (Misses) –
Brisket with Pastrami Spices – All but the slice on top are DRY and have a layer of Jello-ee FAT that I peel off and only have boring dry crumbling brisket that also lacks smoke.
Biscuit is dry – but is edible only because of the whipped brown sugar butter
Macaroni and cheese taste weird. I couldn’t keep eating it to figure out what was in it.
Smoked Watermelon salad tasted like watermelon mixed with ashtray contents.
That was my 2025 trip to Mabel’s BBQ. Or is it or was Mabel’s Bar & Q?
It was just announced that The upcoming closure is expected around September 12TH 2025.
Wild Fig BBQ is located in the Sun City part of Summerlin Las Vegas Nevada. They do not have seating inside but do have about five outdoor tables so most people do take out. The menu changes some from time to time but they usually offer brisket, pulled pork, smoked turkey breast, pastrami, spare ribs, house made sausage, smoked tri tip, and specials. You can get combo platters, sandwiches, side dishes, party platters, desserts, and more!
On our first visit we tried brisket, turkey, pulled pork, corn muffins, pickles, Brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese and a pastrami sandwich. (and yes we had a bunch of food for maybe two more meals.
Everything from visit one was very good. From visit one our top favorite was the pastrami sandwich. At that time is was the best in all the land. Our second favorite might have been the turkey or the pork? The brisket was good but the pastrami shined so much more.
2nd pastrami sandwich was “to go.” This one still is very good but was different. It was SUPER JIGGLY……and slightly less smoked and less seasoned. (I preferred the first one that was more melt in your mouth and seasoned and smoked just so…….. but others might prefer this 2nd version because some people go crazy for jiggly)
We tried more sides – Chili Crisp Rice (tasty but slightly too spicy for me and I do like spicy), Macaroni and Cheese (pretty good but prefer without the red stuff on it) Favorite side was the BBQ Eggplant. Brussels Sprouts were good.
Wagyu Brisket Special was amazing!
Turkey again very good!
The sauces are very good! I like the orange chipotle BBQ the best.
I had to try this bag of Kettle Chili Crisp Potato Chips so I picked it up at my local grocery store.
I am familiar with all kinds of Chili Crisp. I made a few myself – Basically Chili Crisp was originally a Spicy Chinese Condiment that added flavors, heat, and textures to food. (the below chili crisps, and food recipes can be found here in the search.
Chili CrispCabbage and Chilli Crisp Dumplings Indian Inspired Chili Crisp FORKING Delicious Corn Salad made with Italian Chili CrispItalian Chili Crisp
Anyways back to the chips.
I open the bag and take a whiff….It doesn’t really smell like anything I know……maybe a wet potato smell that is mixed with oil and seasonings?
The chips are also all small and very thin and covered with some powder.
The ingredients look OK so I let one dissolve in my mouth.
It’s spicy but doesn’t taste like chili crisp to me.
It tastes very different when you just eat them……….More like spicy BBQ chips. With a little sweetness to them.
Not bad or awful but also not exciting. Just OK.
Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Kettle Chili Crisp Potato Chips your Forking thoughts may indeed differ.
Born & Raised is a 24/7 Bar, Restaurant, and Gaming Type of Place with three locations around Las Vegas Nevada. The Centennial (North/West Location) has a large patio that wraps around a bit. As you enter a wall of shrunken golden skulls is in front of you.
to the one side is a bar area with lots of big screen TVs.
To the other sidet is a large bar with gaming, high top tables and half booths.
I tried the Bar Signature Salad (Greens, Blackened Chicken, Strawberries, Oranges, Pistachios, Goat Cheese with Strawberry Vinaigrette).
The chicken was warm and moist. All the flavors go together well. This is a tasty salad. It’s also large and I took about 1/2 home.
my husband tried the Mexico City Burger (Prime Patty, Pepper Jack Cheese, Onion Ring, Pickled Jalapeño, Chipotle Mayo but left off as requested) The problem is that he asked for Medium-Rare and got well done.
The other problem is that this burger was in pieces . He picked it up and a piece fell off.
Then another piece fell off.
nobody checked on us until we were done.
Good Salad, very average service, and POOR BURGERS.
Louie Louie Fried Chicken is a semi-Fast-food type of wing, chicken fingers, sandwich, and fries type of place located in the North/West part of Las Vegas Nevada. You order and pay at the counter and they run out your order when it’s ready (about seven minutes).
I tried a combo platter of a chicken sandwich with fries and a soda.
My sandwich has Louie Louie sauce, pickles, and slaw on it and I asked for medium heat. NOTICE THAT SANDWICH LOOKS RUNNY.
The fries and soda are very good BUT –
I take out the sandwich and it’s such a mess I can’t eat it as a sandwich.
I pull out one of the two chicken tenders.
It isn’t tender.
It’s dry and stringy.
My husband also got dry tenders in his chicken sandwich.
We also tried the macaroni and cheese.
It’s almost good. The flour taste isn’t cooked out so you taste flour.
Well the fries and soda were good.
That was my trip to Louie Louie Fried Chicken.
Louie Louie Fried Chicken 4412 N Rancho Dr. Las Vegas NV
Honey Salt is an American Farm to Table Type of full service restaurant located in the Summerlin part of Las Vegas Nevada. It’s been slightly redecorated since my last visit.
Old look below – They always had lots of homey things inside including some vintage salt and pepper shakers. These shelves are gone now but they still have some homey things around and a few salt and pepper shakers. They also used to have a mirror collection on one of the walls.
Below is how it currently looks.
Today I tried the Fried Chicken Sandwich that comes with a small Caesar Salad. (called Biloxi Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich)
The chicken is fried nicely and is a generous portion. It’s juicy and tasty and is also adorned with slaw, the right amount of House Durkee’s dressing and pickle chips. The Caesar salad is tasty and has a nice amount of grated cheese on it. The croutons in it taste house made and are very good..
We also shared a side of Macaroni and Cheese with Kale.
For my taste the pasta is a bit soft but maybe they are going for Southern style? It is very creamy but doesn’t taste like cheese sauce to us. At first I thought it was a cream cheese taste but in saucier bites it was more sour like a sour cream taste.’
To be honest it didn’t taste this way last time to us. Last time the dominate flavor was cheese. If they used sour cream last time they used much less.
Below is from last tome.
My husband had a burger medium-rare (called backyard burger – cheddar, caramelized onion, tomato jam)
It was cooked to medium-rare as requested and was a very good burger served with freshly made hot fries with fluffy centers.
I took half my sandwich home so I could fit in some dessert.
To my surprise the Key Lime pie is big enough to feed FOUR people.
It’s very good with a tasty sweet moist crust taste like brown sugar, butter, and a little cinnamon. A nicely made curd and fluffy caramelized meringue.
The menu changes from time to time. These items not on the menu at the moment but could be on the menu again.
Salmon and Kale Salad Ribeye Sandwich with house made chips
This is a twist on Chef Bud Dudhia’s recipe for Tomatillo Salsa. I often have extra Zhug leftover from visiting Mediterranean Restaurants. Zhug is usually a flavor BOMB of Cilantro, Parsley, HOT peppers, garlic, cumin, coriander, and lemon. So naturally it can enhance salsas. This salsa came out FORKING CRAZY DELICIOUS!!!!! I have no idea how many servings it actually makes. It’s delicious you can always freeze some if desired.
4 lbs tomatillos – remove skins, wash, and quarter
2 medium onions – remove skin and quarter
2 Tablespoons or to taste green zhug
2 pickled jalapeños – remove stems and chop
7 garlic cloves – grated
7 oz almonds ground or use almond flour (same thing)]
1 large or 2 medium avocados (remove skin and pit ) chopped
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
1/2 cup jalapeño brine
1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
Set Oven to 400 degrees F.
The tomatillos and the onions go on a sheet pan and you put them on the upper rack of your oven for abut 45 minutes or until they char a bit.
Then you blend (hand blender is safer and works better) and blend. Then add all the rest of the ingredients (Zhug, jalapeños, garlic, almonds, avocado, cilantro, jalapeño brine, and sea salt.
It’s FORKING Delicious!
Tomatillo with Zhug Salsa Recipe
A Special Thanks to Chef Nud Dudhia so I could make what I got here.
